Ferguson protesters write officer’s name on pig’s head

Hundreds of people are gathering in Ferguson, Missouri this weekend to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager killed by white police officer Darren Wilson. Brown said his family is still grieving, but he believes his son’s legacy can be seen in the increased awareness of police shootings, and renewed skepticism when officers describe their side of events leading up to those shootings.

Fire-eater Laura Charles performs alongside protesters outside the Ferguson Police Department Saturday, August 8, 2015, in Ferguson, Mo. But it also gave life to a new movement under the “Black Lives Matter” banner that has pushed for better treatment of minorities by police.

Brown’s death at the hands of a white policeman triggered mass protests across the United States and ignited a national debate on racial inequality and the use of excessive force in the policing of minority communities.

At the earlier march, which ended at Brown’s Normandy High School, his father told reporters he was working hard at “keeping my son’s life still around” and doing “whatever I can do to empower us as a people”.

Following the release of the report, DOJ announced it would work with the Ferguson authorities to reform the law enforcement practices in the city and in surrounding municipalities. “I’m still hurting. My family’s still hurting”. Some witnesses claimed Brown had his hands up in surrender.

“They’ve made some good positive steps in the right direction”, Mr Gray said. And the business district that was at the center of last year’s sometimes-violent protests is slowly rebuilding. “I really hate that it happened”, Bland said on Sunday.

On the anniversary of Brown’s death, some in the city are commemorating his killing with silent prayers and peaceful marches, that have been more parade than protest.

“When those kids have access to quality education, when jobs are available, then we’ll rest”, Pierson said.

But Monday, two groups are planning something that is not so family-friendly, a day of civil disobedience.

“We have to be conscious as a council that we don’t come to an agreement that would not allow us to function anymore as a productive city”, Fletcher said.

“It was right here that Mike Brown was shot after being confronted by police for shoplifting,” said Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey.

Just a half mile away, the site of a QuikTrip that was looted and torched a night after Brown’s death is being transformed.

Arlington police said Taylor was shot as police investigated a burglary at a vehicle dealership in the Dallas-area city.

“A year ago this day people took the streets in defiance all over the country and it was inspiring, it was liberating, it was beautiful” said Jamel Mins, 29, the organizer of the New York protests.

In Ferguson, a makeshift memorial of teddy bears, candles and flowers has been rebuilt on the quiet residential road where Brown died, months after local officials removed a similar pile of offerings.

A string of US police killings of black suspects since the shooting has triggered an outpouring of anger at perceived police racism and prompted calls for change.

A protest march involving around 300 people brought West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson – the scene of much of last year’s rioting – to a standstill.